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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29430381">valentine for hire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/beforesundown/pseuds/beforesundown'>beforesundown</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dear J [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boyfriend for Hire, Crushes, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, So much flirting, featuring the infamous mickey mouse stuffed toy, jaehyun doesn't know how to hold a toy gun, strangers to something else that I can't quite pinpoint, valentine's day fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:49:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29430381</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/beforesundown/pseuds/beforesundown</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Jaehyun does rent-a-boyfriend services and Taeyong hires him for Valentine's day but they end up doing things Jaehyun wants to do, instead of what Taeyong does after Jaehyun accidentally reveals that it's his birthday too.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dear J [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>135</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>valentine for hire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Important Note!<br/>Black Day is a holiday where singles in Korea who did not receive presents on Valentine's Day gather, dressed in black everythings and eat jjajangmyeon (noodles covered in black bean paste). It's celebrated on April 14th, but here we pretend it's on February! Fly high canonical accuracy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>This is ridiculous. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Taeyong thinks as he smooths over the creases on his shirt. It's the most ridiculous idea he's ever come up with in his 21 years of living. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Twenty-one. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He was a twenty-one-year-old man hiring a boyfriend to go on a date with on Valentine's Day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In his defense, his partners never lasted long enough to make it to Valentine's. Taeyong doesn't blame them, it's him that's obviously the problem. For some reason, he can't quite get himself to be with someone for too long. He gets bored of relationships so easily that at one point he's questioned whether or not he's ever going to settle down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was Johnny, a summer fling way back in 2016 who he went to the beach with every day to pick up seashells and ride the canoe. Seulgi, his first girlfriend after he realized he swings both ways and not just one. And just recently, Doyoung, his longtime friend who he broke up with because it was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>gonna work out and it was awfully too weird, considering how long they've known each other. All of them didn't last any longer than 3 months, and they're just the honorable mentions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong has had relationships in between those three that lasted merely weeks, some a few days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So now he blames nobody </span>
  <em>
    <span>but </span>
  </em>
  <span>himself for always being alone on Valentine's day. He's never had someone to celebrate this day with in all 21 years of his life. So he doesn't care if the other guy thinks it's weird. He's gonna suck it up and enjoy this day whether the nagging voice at the back of his mind tells him it's weird or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Taeyong spots a certain purple-haired man approaching him just a few feet away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, he's seen the guy from a few pictures. Boyfriends-for-hire are usually required to have at least a few photos of themselves on their social media. Understandably so, since their face plays a big part on whether a client wants to hire them or not. And Taeyong was aware this guy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>tall </span>
  </em>
  <span>tall, and he sure did have the looks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But by god, did this man look like the firstborn son of Aphrodite who was cast away simply because he was too perfectly proportionate to keep the gods' insecurities to themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His physique screamed gym-goer, with his prominent biceps that seem to peek from his sleeves, at the same time looking fairly skinny enough to still be in college. He looked like a model, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes a model</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Taeyong sees it now, sees it from the way he saunters towards him, he must be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And </span>
  <em>
    <span>his face. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Taeyong can't find the words to accurately convey how he feels about that face. He's either sculpted by the gods themselves, or he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a god himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong apologizes in his head for the many times he's compared this man to the gods in the span of a few minutes but he can't help it, this person is just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>human-like to be walking the Earth amongst all other earthlings who are not worth a second look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's only then Taeyong realizes that the other man has now gotten close enough to be standing right across him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey," he greets. "Lee Taeyong?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong clears his throat, "Y-yeah, hi. That's me." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jung Jaehyun," the man offers a hand, Taeyong stares at it before realizing he's supposed to shake it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nice to meet you," he blurts, feeling the soft caress of the taller's hand in his as his eyes instinctively go back to his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He's smiling now, dimples on both cheeks making themselves known as his hair sways in the cool breeze of the sunny winter morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong wants to punch himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So…" he trails off when their hands disconnect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's my first time um…hiring. So I'm not really sure how this goes," he mutters sheepishly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, is there somewhere you wanna go to? Something you wanna eat on a day like this?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong racks his brain for anything he has in mind. He probably should have planned this beforehand if he didn’t want it to be so damn awkward, more than it already is, but the taller speaks up again before he can come up with anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry, I know a lot of places to eat. I've been in the industry long enough." He jokes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong swoons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This guy is so down to earth he wants nothing more but to be swallowed by it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I like eating jajjangmyeon on Valentine's Day," Taeyong mutters sheepishly. The purple-haired boy cocks an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jajjangmyeon on Valentine's. Huh, the Black Day tradition," he laughs, the kind that has his shoulders shaking lightly like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. His ears turn a light shade of pink and so do his cheeks, compliments with the way his hair shines lavender under the warm sunlight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong's vocabulary runs out of words to express how attracted he is to this guy, and he's pretty sure he's staring—gaping, he doesn't want to admit. But he wants to jump off a cliff right about </span>
  <em>
    <span>now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"We could go to Grandma Han's. Their seaweed soup was great so I'm assuming their jajjangmyeon is just as tasty."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That place is always packed, though." Taeyong hesitates. "I don't think I wanna go there, especially today."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I usually find other places to eat seaweed soup because of all the couples there around this time of the year."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait," Taeyong turns to face the boyfriend-for-hire. "People eat seaweed soup on their birthday."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you eat it on Valentine's Day…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wheels slowly turn in Taeyong's head, clicking, putting the next puzzle piece right next to the other as he works his way through his realization. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Yes?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Correct me if I'm wrong but," </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounded ludicrous in Taeyong's head, but there's reason to believe he's right. So he pushes his hesitation away, barrels through the worries of looking stupid in front of a complete stranger and asks, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Today's your birthday?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh… </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun smacks himself mentally for revealing that on accident. There's really nothing to it. He just doesn't want the other to be burdened by the thought that he's working on his birthday. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah," he runs a hand through his nape sheepishly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry about it though I had no other plans for today, so." He says with finality. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There's really not much to look out for on his birthday. He just shops for LPs in the morning and enjoys a drink with Mark and Johnny until late night. When he's not feeling too tired, he facetimes his parents all the way from Incheon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of this, of course, when he's not taking requests and working as a boyfriend-for-hire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Business usually booms at this time of the year, and he's not one to pass up an opportunity at getting a few extra bucks for university, especially with how it's been hard for his parents to send money for his own expenses here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that's how he usually spends his birthdays; working. He doesn't hate it, though. He can spend a whole day hanging out (albeit with a complete stranger) around popular restaurants and cafes in Seoul, maybe an arcade or a carnival when he's lucky, whatever the client is up for. All for free, and he still gets paid. It's a win-win. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is ridiculous," Taeyong scoffs. "You should be with people you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>on your birthday. Not a complete stranger like me." Taeyong blurts out with no second thoughts. They </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>complete strangers, and he wouldn't usually be this blunt with someone he just met but it's his </span>
  <em>
    <span>birthday. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He shouldn't be with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you shouldn't be working!" He adds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's fine, I…" Jaehyun hesitates saying the next part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I could really use the money so…" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong blanks out at that. He doesn't want Jaehyun to be working on his birthday when he could be hanging out with his friends and/or family. But he needs the money, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Taeyong, the ever clever man he is, thinks of a way to make it work for the both of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You still wanna eat that seaweed soup?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, sure I guess. You don't have to, really. We can go wherever you like–" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shush. There's this place that serves the best seaweed soup in town. Better than Grandma Han's, and one where there aren't any annoying couples around. " </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun doesn't get a warning when he's pulled to the opposite direction of Grandma Han's. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong makes a sound at the back of his throat when the familiar taste of seaweed soup meets his taste buds. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>abhors </span>
  </em>
  <span>the taste of seaweed soup. Doesn't eat it unless he needs to, when his </span>
  <em>
    <span>body </span>
  </em>
  <span>needs the nutrition. Sometimes his friends force him to do it, many times it's his mom. But today he makes it seem like he's genuinely enjoying the dish for the lavender-haired man so as not to make him feel guilty for not satisfying his client. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You love it that much?" Jaehyun asks, slurping a spoon of the broth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah," he laughs through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't have to pretend like you like it. I hate it, too." The younger looks at him pointedly, a smile breaking out of his face when Taeyong sighs in relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you really stick to this tradition? Seaweed soup on Valentine's Day?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Beats having to eat jajjangmyeon on Valentine's Day."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Touché." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong tries to hide his giggle, but it comes out nonetheless. It's embarrassingly annoying to get so flustered in front of this insanely gorgeous stranger, but hey, it's just for one day. He wanted to enjoy his valentine slash birthday date. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looks him in the eye again, the demigod with a killer smile. And he finds him staring right back, eye smile and all, while picking on his food. Taeyong clears his throat, pushes away the oncoming smile parading its way into his features again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So why Black Day?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Black Day?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The whole jajjangmyeon thing. I didn't know people actually do that," </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Only the bitter singles." Taeyong snickers, it comes out like an insult. But he's grown quite used to it by now. He admits he's single more times than he's not, and that's okay too. He likes standing on his own two feet, but certainly not on Valentine's day. He prefers to be on his knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Didn't peg you for a bitter single."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, yeah? And why's that?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're very pretty," Taeyong almost chokes on his own spit. Wills the remnants of the seaweed soup to go down his esophagus without emitting a sound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Suitors must be lining up on your doorstep." Jaehyun muses, taking a sip of his drink as he eases on his chair, shoulders hitting the backrest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Probably not as many as your clients," Taeyong shoots back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And out of all of them, I picked you." The corner of his mouth lifts as if teasing. As if knowing Taeyong is gonna fall for that trap so graciously he's not gonna see it coming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And why me?" Taeyong pauses his chewing, looks Jaehyun in the eye when he asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There's a smug look on the younger's face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He fell for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Like I said, it's because you're very pretty." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong can't take his eyes off him now. Certainly not after that. His cheeks heat up at the statement. He's ridiculously blunt with his words, and it's not looking good for his frail heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're very good with words, you know that?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I do know that, it's what's got the clients lining up in front of my doorstep." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong draws his lip between his teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talking to Jaehyun is like playing volleyball on a hot sunny day at the beach. The weather is beautiful, the sea breeze is tranquilizing, and there's a quiet buzz of the people's chatter all gathering around the shore. But Taeyong is not one for sports. Running around to pass the ball back to Jaehyun's court is exhausting, his ankle is sprained, and he isn't the least bit athletic. He's the last person on Earth you would go to to play beach volleyball. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun's presence, in itself, is overwhelming. But talking to him is taxing. Add the fact that he's ridiculously handsome and he's a heart attack waiting to happen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm guessing your clients have never asked you what you wanted to do on a date." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They have," he starts. "But you're the only one who's ever complied." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing that stirs something in Taeyong’s ego. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He's the only one who's ever complied</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he sashays in his head. Jaehyun will remember him for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long </span>
  </em>
  <span>time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well then, what else do you wanna do?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let me ask you this first," he puts both arms over the table, inches his face closer to him from the other side that Taeyong has to back away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He might need to consult a cardiologist after this, his heart is doing things it hasn't done before in his entire existence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you doing this?" Jaehyun's eyes search his for an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Asking you what you want? It's your birthday. And maybe I want a second date," Taeyong raises an eyebrow, challenging him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't do second dates, Lee Taeyong." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong makes a face, puts his hand over his chest like he just got shot in the heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Full-named on the first date." Jaehyun laughs, his eyes turning to crescents with his dimples on display. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You like making me laugh," the taller points out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your smile is to die for." Taeyong's gaze lingers on the younger for longer than it should, and he has to reprimand himself for making it </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>obvious that he's head over heels for this guy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He feels triumphant though when he doesn't get a reply. For once the ball falls on Jaehyun's court, and he gets no verbal response. Instead, he notices the crimson painting the other's ears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know what </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>would die for?" Taeyong fears the mischievous look in his eyes. But it's too late when the taller perks up again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A rollercoaster ride." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That's how they both end up at the carnival 10 minutes later. It's the second thing Jaehyun has wished for on his birthday, and Taeyong's his genie. No matter how much the ride terrifies him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you wanna pick a different ride, it's okay too, you know." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun is mocking him, Taeyong knows it. He knows the younger notices the jitter in his fingers and the reluctant look on his face. Rollercoasters aren't his strong suit, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hates</span>
  </em>
  <span> heights. He doesn't like chasing adrenaline, and he has the ugliest damn scream in the entire world. He doesn't want Jaehyun to hear that. Nor see his near-crying face when the rollercoaster guy buckles the restraints on him. But he's here anyway, it's Jaehyun's birthday and he's forced him to work on his birthday, so he just sucks it up and pretends this is the best Valentine's Day of his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun ends up laughing at Taeyong's screams the entire ride </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>when they get off. The older doesn't pay him any heed when he feels bile rise up his throat and he fakes a gag, just to get a reaction out of him that's </span>
  <em>
    <span>not a laugh. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun rushes to his side almost immediately, apologizing for laughing at his misery, but Taeyong's lips curve into a mischievous grin and he runs off to the cotton candy stand right across the ride's entrance. Jaehyun whines about faking a puke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't do that to your date!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, but you're my fake-date," Taeyong says as a matter-of-factly. They're walking to the cotton candy stand now, and there's a small queue of people waiting for their own taste of the sugary sweet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm still your date, hyung."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh? We're on the honorific base now?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can take it further."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh yeah? How </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>further?" Taeyong regrets the prodding and teasing when Jaehyun suddenly blocks his path and ducks down to get eye-to-eye level with him, face so close that their noses are almost touching. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He freezes, breath halting as he feels Jaehyun's on his. His fists are clenched unimaginably tight, losing feeling in his entire body except for his chest where his heart is hammering against his ribcage like crazy. The latter stares him down for what feels like forever, searching his eyes for something he's not quite sure what, but Taeyong only looks back like a deer caught in headlights. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's your eyes," Jaehyun finally moves away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your eyes, they're very pretty." He says like it's information he has to know, set in stone or carve on a tree trunk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong knows that already. He's been told his eyes are majestic like a million times, a variety of synonyms for pretty. Some he couldn't even pronounce, but something in the way Jaehyun says 'pretty' like it's as simple as breathing has him feeling like he's run a hundred miles on sugar rush. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have stood there thinking about the taller calling him pretty for quite a while, but he doesn't get the opportunity to ponder on it longer when Jaehyun comes back with two sticks of cotton candy in hand, nonchalant. Like he didn't just set him into a full-on heart attack. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, where to next?" Again. Nonchalant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong clears his throat before he speaks up, afraid it's gonna come out all high-pitched and fucked up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's your birthday, Valentine boy. You decide." Taeyong takes a bite out of the cotton candy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His is shaped like a cat, pink face, blue ears, and whiskers made of dried seaweed. He can't quite tell what Jaehyun's is considering he's already bitten into half of it, only making out the mouth of what he assumes to be a puppy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We should shoot stuff for free."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You just bit a puppy's head off and now you wanna shoot stuff? You monster," Taeyong theatrically fakes a gasp, but Jaehyun is well on his way to the shooting booth a few feet away from them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>True enough, they do end up shooting stuff for free. But instead of winning anything, Jaehyun is emptying his pockets for more ammo to win Taeyong a stuffed toy. Date courtesy, he says. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don't you want me to win you something? We'll be like a real couple. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong would very much like that. He would also like for him to successfully hit the damn target. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You have absolutely no idea how to hold a gun, do you?" Taeyong laments. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm concentrating," he shushes, his tongue sticking out as he aims for the target so excruciatingly close to him, Taeyong wonders how he still hasn't hit bullseye yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Here, let me do it." Taeyong graciously takes the gun from Jaehyun's hold, the purple-haired man furrowing his brows in annoyance. If Taeyong lets him have it his way they'll be here all goddamn day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wanna win that for you!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, it looks like </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm</span>
  </em>
  <span> gonna have to win it for </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> now</span>
  <em>
    <span>, </span>
  </em>
  <span>don't I?" Taeyong aims for the red circle in the middle of the target. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first shot he fires flies nowhere near it. "Hyung, come on, I wanna do it." Jaehyun gloats. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong ignores him and fires the second shot. This time, he hits the target straight in the middle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde narrows his eyes mockingly at the younger. Did he think he couldn't shoot a gun? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You were an ass shooter," Taeyong admonishes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I was out of shape. I win my dates stuffed toys all the time." Taeyong mutters a </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah, right </span>
  </em>
  <span>under his breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And why'd you have to pick a Mickey Mouse one?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I thought you liked that one." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I do, but it's so big." Jaehyun adjusts his hold on the stuffed toy. "It's a pain to carry around." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong decides to put him out of his misery by suggesting they go to a cafe nearby since he was feeling a little dehydrated from all the walking as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They get a table with three chairs so a certain Mickey Mouse could sit down with them. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He could be like our designated third wheel. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jaehyun chirps. Taeyong doesn't even know what that means. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, you like my eyes," Taeyong starts when their orders arrive. A disgustingly sweet strawberry drink for him, and an iced coffee for Jaehyun. A blueberry cheesecake for the plushie in between them, which of course, they're going to eat later on but it's Mickey's—just for formalities. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And you like my smile."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Does that call for a second date?" Taeyong raises a brow, takes a sip of his diabetes-inducing drink before Jaehyun replies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't do second dates, hyung." A spoonful of the blueberry cheesecake, a sip of his iced coffee. "Unless you pay me." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong jolts in his seat. "Oh, right," he reaches for his wallet, pulling out a few wons before he feels a gentle hand on his. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's Jaehyun's. And the touch is so soft he would've mistaken it for Mickey Mouse himself, but the hand that looked austere and calloused was very much gentle and warm. It has his heart jumping in leaps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong doesn't know whether he'd like to coddle that hand in his own or get as far away from it as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't have to pay me, hyung." Jaehyun's hand recedes to his side of the table, but Taeyong has a protest of his own to defend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I hired you for the day, so I'm paying you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really, keep it." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A mop of purple is what meets Taeyong's eyes when the younger casts his eyes downwards, hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Taeyong feels like he's about to say something, so he waits for him to speak up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You've been paying for everything today. And I…" The blonde feels the hesitation in his voice, prays to God he just spits it out cause it's making </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>nervous too. Why's he looking so somber after a fun date? Did he do something wrong? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This was really fun. And I don't want you to think it was just work for me. I had so much fun," Jaehyun meets his gaze this time, to assure him that he in fact did have fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong searches his eyes for a second. He never knows what to say in situations like these. He's always been on the receiving end of the wooing, so he's never had to learn how to do it himself. With Jaehyun, he wants to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Something tells me it's because I almost died at the rollercoaster today." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That cracks a laugh out of the younger, and Taeyong is so glad his funny bone is still in tact (after what he had to go through with the rollercoaster ride today) because Jaehyun's laugh is so fucking therapeutic. He'll never get tired of watching his eyes crinkle and his dimples deepen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, I won't pay you. On one condition." Their drinks are half-empty now, the two forks on the plate of a single slice blueberry cheesecake making their presence known as Taeyong glances down to gather the courage to say the next part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm getting that second date." He exhales, almost breathy. Almost wishing he said it right, or said it better. But Jaehyun gets it. He gets him like a classic joke everyone's familiar with ever since they’ve had the ability to understand idioms and hyperboles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun gets him like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're getting that second date," a fork stabs through the cake. The giant plushie to their right stares acquiescently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No payments." </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahhh thank you for reading! this was so fun to write!! all the confident upfront flirting was just jhsfsjkjdkj<br/>did this cure ur valentine day blues? lmk &lt;3<br/> </p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/jaetheism">twitter</a><br/><a href="https://curiouscat.qa/jaetheism">cc</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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